PENSION GUIDELINES for British Expatriates
Brought to you with the compliments of British Australian
Pensioner Association Changes in Rules

The new rules are in force as from April 2010.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - The new rules will not affect you if
you are due to reach pension age before 6th April 2010. No new claims for Adult
Dependancy Increase will be allowed after that date, even if you reached pension
age before that date.

If you apply for a pension forecast the UK authorities will
probably include a lot of material like the following, even if the new rules
will not apply to you.

Please read this carefully before you decide to pay any
voluntary Class 2 or 3 contributions.

On 25 May 2006, the Government published a White Paper
"Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system (Cm 6841)", and a bill is
now (July 2007) being processed in Parliament.

If the proposals become law, State Pension awards will be
worked out differently for people who reach state pension age on or after the 06
April 2010, that is men born on or after 06 April 1945 and women born on or
after 06 April 1950. If you were born before these dates you will reach state
pension age before the new rules cut in, and the new rules will not apply to
you.

A gradual increase in State Pension age from 65 to 68
between 2024 and 2046.

A reduction in the number of qualifying years needed to get
a full basic state pension .At
the moment, women need between 39 and 44 years depending on their date of
birth and
men need 44, but under the changes, everyone would need just 30 years.

The minimum number of qualifying years needed to get some
basic state pension would be
reduced to one.

Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) years, which under the
current rules reduce the number of qualifying years needed for a full basic
pension would be replaced by weekly National Insurance credits for:

Parents awarded Child benefit for a child under age 12 and
approved foster carers;

Carers who provide 20 hours or more weekly care for someone
who is sick or severely disabled.

You may have been advised that under the current rules you
have a shortfall in your National Insurance record and you now:

want to make up the shortfall

need to consider paying voluntary Class 2 or 3
contributions

need to make a further payment of voluntary Class 2 or 3
contributions in order to make the tax year in question qualify for State
Pension purposes under the current rules.

If the Bill becomes law you may not need to pay the voluntary
Class 2 or 3 contributions. This is because you are due to reach State Pension
age on or after 6 April 2010 and

you may have already qualified for a full basic State
Pension under the proposed new rules; or

you may anticipate working and paying enough contributions
to qualify for a full basic State
Pension under the new rules.

You should therefore consider very carefully whether you
should delay paying Class 2 or 3
contributions until it is clear whether the rules will change.

If you nevertheless decide to pay the contributions, you
might not be able to get a refund if it turns out that you need not have paid
them. However, if you delay payment the contributions may have to be paid at a
slightly higher rate (if you delay payment the normal
time limits for paying Class 2 or 3 contributions still apply).